I just saw an auction on eBay for a 1937 Reeded edge Buffalo nickel in an SEGS holder. The listing states that in that year at some coin show, cents and nickels were available that way. It doesn't say expolicitly that the MINT did the reeding. In any case, I would expect a grading company to net down the grade if it was altered. Anybody know the story on these?
I noticed one for sale on Northeast Numismatic's website. www.northeastcoin.com Northeast says that in 1937 the ANA convention held in Philadelphia had a very limited quantity of cents and nickels produced for the convention. I don't knopw much else about the story other than what I read on Northeast's website. The coin is located under nickels in the inventory category. By the way, Northeast has some pretty nice coins for sale. Sometimes there are some that are really reasonable on price. I have bought from them a few times. Robert
Has anyone ever considered why this "COIN" is only mentioned through Ebay and its various sellers? How about why it is not mentioned in the cherry pickers guide, Breen, a guide to Buffalo Nickels or any other numismatic referrence? This type of coin falls into the same catagory as a Racketeer Nickel. With no offering of when the reeding was added, it certainly CANNOT command a premium over any other simularly grade 1937 Buffalo nickel. For any of you that wish to spend $600 plus on a reeded Buffalo, let me know. Reeding is not a difficult thing to add. This is simply a case of knowing your coins.
Yes, I agree. It was sold at tbe 1937 ANA convention, but preumably the reeing was an aftermarket thing. But, what is to stop someone from adding reeding today. However, for what it os worth, a Racketeer nivkel does sell for a premium if it looks realistically old. There is no guarnatee of when the reeding is added, of course. I think the threshhold is the cost at which it would cost to add reeding today. For example: no one would fake a Racketeer nickel for $5, so if it were sold for that it presumably is not a (current) fake.
Well lets look at the costs involved. Gold plating runs $1 per coin. Reeding runs 30 cents per coin. Now this is based on a couple of hundred coins at a time. Once you figure in the price of worn Liberty Nickels at $3 to $4 dollars per coin, it is easy to see how they sell for under $10. There were multiple dealers this past weekend selling Racketeer Nickels at $10 both with and without reeding. The Buffalo Nickel in question was certainly made after leaving the mint. There is absolutely no record of any mint error involving reeding on a Nickel coin that I have ever heard. Just goes to show why it is necessary to stay with the top four grading services.
Where can I get reeding done for 30 cents? I really want to know, as I have some fun planned (not for Liberty nickels).
If there were some way to "authenticate" the timing of the reeding as taking place at the 1937 ANA, I think the coin would be worth a *modest* premium for the exonumia value. But since that's not possible, it's just a damaged coin.
JBK, There are several places that can add reeding to just about any coin. We use a firm that makes two headed coins and other such fantasy pieces. If you search the web for companies that make fantasy pieces, you should find several that can do this for you. The price quoted is for several hundred pieces at a time, so keep that in mind. Also, I strongly advise that you mark these coins as fantasy pieces and do not attempt to sell them as mint errors.
Thanks for the tip. If I do something like this, it will be on coins that would never have reeding, so no chance of mint error confusion or other fraud.
